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All the World's a Stage

With
93 member and correspondent firms and more than 30,000 total staff
in 76 countries, RSM International is the sixth largest global
network of independent accounting and other professional services
firms. One force helping unify that constellation of laws, languages
and cultures is Jean M. Stephens, a CPA who originally built an
audit practice in her native Southern California. Now based in
London, she travels the world’s continents as leader of RSM
International, working with the members on the accounting firm
network’s global reach and client services. As such, she is also a
pioneer, the first and so far only female CEO of a top 10 global
accounting network. She had recently returned to London from RSM
International’s annual conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., when she
took time with the JofA to reflect on her journey so far and
accounting with an international outlook.

JofA:
Would you tell us about your career path and how you got where
you are today?

Stephens: I
graduated from the University of Redlands when I was 20 years old,
and immediately started working at an accounting firm in my hometown
of San Bernardino, Calif. At the same time, I completed a master’s
degree in finance from California State University, San Bernardino.
After working in audit for over 10 years, I became a partner in the
local firm and later merged into McGladrey & Pullen LLP. Then,
in 1996 a position opened up in London at the executive office of
their international network, RSM International. At the time it meant
a step backwards. I had gone from a partner of a local firm to a
senior manager within the national firm of McGladrey & Pullen,
to potentially a manager position in London. Having always dreamt of
living abroad for a period, and the timing being right in my life, I
said, “Let’s do it.” Originally, my plan was to stay for two years
and then go back and continue my auditing career. However, during
that time, RSM International grew and developed at a rapid rate.
McGladrey & Pullen made me a partner in 2001. In 2002 I became
chief operating officer of RSM, and in 2006 the International board
of directors asked me to be CEO. It was a bigger opportunity than
I’d imagined; however, I had spent 10 years in London recruiting and
working with the member firms, and so they knew me and my style of
working very well.

JofA:
What does your experience say about prospects for women leading
large and mid-tier CPA firms and associations and networks?

Stephens:I
think for women this is an absolutely great career with endless
opportunities. Since I entered the profession, the attitudes have
changed with the times, and we no longer have the up-and-out
mentality. There are careers for people who choose not to become
partners and continued support for women and the paths they choose
to take, particularly when it comes to family.

JofA:
How has the worldwide economic crisis affected RSM International
and its member firms?

Stephens:Certainly,
everyone is feeling these challenging times, including our members
and their clients. One element, on a practical level, is if our
clients are having trouble, then they’re going to reach out to their
advisers to work with them on coming up with solutions. It is a much
more competitive environment than it has been before, and in this
environment, having a strong international organization you can draw
from is absolutely critical to being competitive and successful.

JofA:
Who has been an important influence on you?

Stephens:I’d
have to say my parents, particularly my mother, because I just
cannot remember a time of ever thinking that something wasn’t
possible. It just didn’t enter my frame of reference.
Professionally, I would say the community organizations I was active
in when I lived in San Bernardino. They were a great training ground
for leadership and management skills and really helped me in terms
of working with all different types of people and learning how you
get things done efficiently and effectively.

JofA:
What do you do as a hobby?

Stephens:I
think London is the greatest city in the world, in terms of the art
and culture available here. I enjoy the theater, I’m a big fan of
art and alternative music, and I have dreams of getting into photography.

JofA:
Could you identify a couple of challenges that RSM International
faces in the near term and how you’re addressing them?

Stephens:As a
member organization, one of our challenges is ensuring that
everything we do collectively is serving our members in their own
growth and development, and contributes to the development of the
profession in terms of quality standards and harmonization. Building
trust amongst our partners worldwide is critical and is something we
continually think about and work on. Our professionals must trust
each other to be able to say to their clients with confidence, that,
yes, we can serve you in India, or we can serve you in China, we can
serve you in Australia, we can serve you in Thailand, Singapore, in
the U.K., etc. Building that trust and cooperation is a focus for
all our activities including our training program and all of our
meetings. We have a leadership development program, the RSM Academy,
once a year that is a weeklong, intensive training program on
international issues. The knowledge our professionals take away from
this program is very important, but the networking is equally as
important because it builds that trust.

JofA:
What about others who might be thinking about overseas
assignments and just like the sound of it, but what should they know?

Stephens:My
advice to anybody who asks me is absolutely just do it. Just to get
out there and take whatever opportunity is there. Because like me,
you never know what’s going to happen and what doors are going to
open through that process. But probably, more fundamentally, they
will learn about themselves, and they will gain experiences of the
world. If they end up going back, as most do, they will have a
different point of view and a more open view that will make them
more successful in their own career. And I personally think dealing
with the different cultures, dealing with different people,
different viewpoints, different approaches to issues is very, very
fascinating. I’m a big, big proponent for our young people getting
out there and having all these experiences. The opportunities are
there. They just have to go find them.

Editor’s
Note: “Corner
Office Conversations” is an occasional series of personal talks
with high-level leaders in accounting and finance.

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